The present invention generally relates to network communications, and more particularly to backup networks, and a system and method for glare reduction in backup networks.
In modern day communications, networks have become increasingly important in the public and private sectors. A large sector of our business society relies on the exchange of information, and this has made the reliability of networks of utmost importance in the continued growth and expansion of our economy. Unfortunately, the high traffic and complexity of those networks has made their reliability questionable.
In order to lessen the severity of these failures, backup networks have been developed over which information can continue to flow in the case of a failure. In the simplest sense, a backup network could be an analog modem connection, but in a more complex alternative, it could be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) connection or digital subscriber line (DSL) modem connection. These backup networks, although operating at lower data rates, have a much higher reliability than do other networks because they typically are implemented over the public switched telephone network (PSTN), which has been optimized for reliability for more than a half-century since the invention of the telephone. In typical implementations, when a failure is sensed by a system operating over a primary network, the system attempts to implement the backup network to communicate to the remote system which it was connected to until the failure or to another remote system if it cannot get back to the original remote system.
Problems can arise when this backup philosophy is widely implemented among networked computers. One such problem is a glare condition. A glare condition occurs when each system blocks the other from connecting, because each system senses the network failure simultaneously and attempts to establish the backup connection.
The present invention involves an improvement to backup networking methods, which reduces the impact of glare effects created when both endpoints simultaneously sense network failure. By employing the glare reduction system of the present invention, backup networks are able to sense the glare effect and adjust the backup network""s dial control at each endpoint. By adjusting the dial control at each endpoint, the backup network will ensure that a connection will be made and will reduce the amount of time wasted when a glare condition is present.
When backup network glare reduction system in accordance with the present invention is used in connection with a backup network, the glare condition is sensed on the backup network. After the glare condition is sensed, each endpoint performs an algorithm to decide which endpoint is dominant and which is non-dominant. The non-dominant endpoint backs off and waits, while the dominant system immediately tries to reconnect to the non-dominant system.
Glare reduction can also be used in a wide variety of primary networks including frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, T-1 networks, hard-wired networks, etc. Moreover, glare reduction can be used with any type of backup network connection that can be accessed through a dialing method, including but not limited to, a plain old telephone service (POTS) connection, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, etc.
The present invention can also be conceptualized as providing a method for communication across a backup network. This method can be broadly summarized by the steps of: detecting a glare condition, performing an algorithm to determine which endpoint is dominant, backing off at the non-dominant endpoint, and redialing immediately at the dominant endpoint.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.